Midnight Mermaid
by Rei Haruno -Sakura no Imooto
Summary: All they wanted was to celebrate in a private beachside inn until they discovered the rumor about the mermaid and that peculiar guy in the inn, but all they got was a weekend get-away gone wrong. Who escaped from the inn, and who were served dinner to the midnight mermaid?
1. Grand Mermaid Inn

Hi, another one from me which is a horror story. Welcome to **Midnight Mermaid**! This is about a rumor about a private beachside inn the group of friends visited for a celebration. They are college students so they were aged around their supposed human ages which are around 19-24. This is an AU and will have jumping POVs!

Alfred Jones is a college student who is friends with someone from a group who won a regional music competition. They decided to celebrate through going out to the beachside and staying in a private inn. There, they heard about a rumored mermaid, and met this peculiar nephew of the innkeeper. Since Alfred's acquaintance with Arthur, their days in the inn were never the same. It's indeed a weekend get-away gone wrong.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia and anything related to its copyright. I had some sources, but those did not include any story published in Fanfiction.

 **Warnings:** Homoerotica, homophobes (the hypocrisy), strong language, gore, jumping POVs and some more.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

 **Summary:** All they wanted was to celebrate in a private beachside inn until they discovered the rumor about the mermaid and that peculiar guy in the inn, but all they got was a weekend get-away gone wrong. Who escaped from the inn, and who were served dinner to the midnight mermaid?

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

It was three in the morning, and we were all on the road already. We were on our way to this private beachside inn Gil rented for this little celebration. It was miles away from the city so we had to be out here this early. Honestly, I was still sleepy, and my body was leaned against the seat. I looked to my side, seeing my brother sleeping at his boyfriend-slash-papa's cozy lap.

Matthew is my brother; well, not much would know since we don't share the same family name. Yes, our parents were not just divorced; it's more complicated than that. He's a big wimp unlike me; he's very soft compared to me, too. However, he's not actually effeminate because he could kick one's ass easily if he wants to.

"What's wrong, Alfred? Looks like you woke up from the wrong side of the bed."

"Nah, I'm just sleepy. My head hurts, too." I massaged my temples. He then just reached out and caressed my head. I then just worked a smile and looked away to see the pitch-black surroundings. It was fucking three, and what do I expect to see out here?

By the way, that was Matthew's papa, Francis. I had no idea why he was calling Francis that, but it kind of sounded a bit lewd to me. Setting that aside, Francis is a cool person: very much of a boyfriend material, say the girls at school. He is a second violinist, and his string quartet just won the regionals. The whole school is proud of them, but they're out here celebrating elsewhere rather than the school party for all the winners from the regional competitions on music.

The rest of the quartet was Gilbert, Roderich and Ludwig. They're all nice people (if Roderich's in the mood, at least). Gilbert is their violist, and he's also like the leader of the pack. He's the one currently driving, and arguing with his boyfriend who's in the navigator's seat. Roderich is the first violinist, and he's like the lady in their group. He should probably act and think more like a guy before everyone gets convinced he's a woman. But then again, Gilbert would not probably like that since he's so gay over Roderich, but he kept on denying that.

Finally, Ludwig is their cellist, and he's less scary than what people see. He's actually funny despite being beefier than me. Like his brother Gilbert, he also had something for his closest friend, Feli. Feliciano is that guy in the backmost seat with Ludwig. He's a bigger wimp than Matthew, but he's quite the ladies' man. That is also why he is always in trouble and has to be saved by the gang.

A sigh came from me as I waited to see any pointers saying we could be anywhere near the inn. Soon, I was able to see the sea from where the car was. The moon was still way above the water, but it could easily shine on the calm waters. From here, I could see rocks in the middle of the sea− and someone sitting on the top of them. I had to squint to make sure it was a person, actually. Then, they moved as if jumping into the water−

Is that a fucking tail? Did I just see a fucking mermaid!?

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

 **Rei Haruno− Sakura no Imooto**

 **Chapter 1: Grand Mermaid Inn**

…

Before I could ask them with what I saw, the whole van shook as Gil stomped on the brakes. Needless to say, Matthew and Feli got thrown off their seats. I actually hit my head against the seat before me so I yelled at Gil who was in front me, "What the fuck, Gil!?"

"S-Sorry. There's a fucking drunkard who suddenly fell on the road." I saw Gil frown through the rearview mirror. He then unfastened his seatbelt and got out of the car. Roderich, who was on the navigator's seat, also got out of the car. Francis and Ludwig were consoling the two sleeping wimps who got thrown off their seats. If only I could get out in an instant, I would get out as well.

Roderich and Gil got back inside, and fastened their seatbelts, and then Gil started the engine. He then made the car move to the next lane and sped again. I could ask them about the mermaid I saw, but looking at their reactions, they could be paying attention to something else.

Now, I'm stuck thinking if what I saw was real.

…

"Alfred, wake up."

I heard a familiar voice, and my eyes started opening. I groaned softly as I squinted to see Matthew's face looming before me. My head pulled back slowly in reflex as the image got cleared. I asked, "Are we here?"

"Yep! The sun hasn't risen yet. If we hurry, we could see sunrise from the beach!"

"We can't see it from there if the sun sets there." I protested as I sleepily got out of the car. He helped me out, and I saw everyone was already outside the car. Gil, who usually had his baggy eyes, smiled at me, "Good morning, sunshine! Let's go inside!"

We walked along the rocky path in a forest-like place. The path was getting covered with small grass, making it look like a very unused one. Soon, we get to see a beautiful rest house− could this be the inn? It's really amazing!

It looked ancestral yet well-maintained. It looked like we're going to stay at someone's grandma's house. I can't wait to go inside!

However, my excitement dropped when I turned to the beachfront. The sea was vast from here− and the distant rock formation was utterly visible from here: the rocks from where the mermaid I saw jumped from. I don't know what to feel about it exactly; I would be usually excited to see a mermaid for real, but I could not help but to feel terrified. Books say mermaids were beautiful women which turn into monsters.

Would I be able to punch a mermaid before it could eat me? Well, if it decided to eat me, that is.

Enough spacing out. I then turned back to them to watch Gil lead the gang towards the reception of the old house. He opened the clear sliding door and went to the reception where there was a bell. He sounded it, and someone called from the other room.

"Coming!" She spoke in a nice-sounding voice.

Soon, a beautiful lady came from the other room, smiling at us, "Oh, welcome, Gilbert, Roderich! I've been expecting you." She then walked to give hugs to both Gil and Roderich. She then greeted us, "Hi! My name is Elizabeta! I'm the innkeeper in the Grand Mermaid Inn! Welcome!"

"Grand Mermaid−?" I softly gasped.

"Oh, yes. I'll explain later at breakfast. Why don't you put down your bags in your rooms first? Be quick though. You wouldn't want to miss the sunrise." She smiled at us and gestured at us to follow her. She was chattering with Gil and Roderich along the way, as well as how everyone else was with one another. I would join the chat, but I was feeling really uneasy in this place.

Yeah, I'm comfortable, but there's something calling me from somewhere.

We arrived in the West Wing, and she showed us the five available rooms in the wing. She said the one in the furthermost left is under renovation. The ceiling collapsed because of one previous visitor who punched a hole in it. Then we went to the East Wing where there were six available rooms. Seeing that we had the inn for ourselves, we just took three rooms (me, Matthew, and Francis) in the West Wing and four rooms (Gil, Roderich, Ludwig and Feli) in the East Wing. With that decided, we walked to put our bags down in our chosen rooms.

The next we did was to watch the sunrise from the side of the beach. The sun was not actually seen, but the slow transition of dark to light created a beautiful image with the mirage on the vast sea. Gil, Matthew and Feli had their cameras out, taking photos of the scenery. I just had my smartphone take at least one photo.

Then, we went to the dining room where Ms. Elizabeta was preparing the breakfast. There were pancakes, three different kinds of sausages, spaghetti, fruits, milk, juice, and a lot of breakfast foods. Thing is there was a tray with plates in it, and it seemed Ms. Elizabeta was taking portions of the food to put in it.

"Who's not dining with us?" Gil asked her, noticing the same thing, as we sat down for breakfast. She just smiled at him bitterly, "Someone who always does not. I'll be back in a jiffy. You can start eating now. Bon appétit!" She took a cup of tea to put in the tray, and walked fast out of the room. We only looked at one another before Gil started eating, taking a large serving of pancakes, making it a cue to proceed.

The food was so delicious, Gil even crying because he wanted to deny it. I was stuffing my mouth with pancake-bacon sandwich when Ms. Elizabeta walked back in. She looked really delighted with our reaction to her cooking. She sat down the vacant seat and started eating with us, "Looks like I don't have to ask how the food is."

"My, Ms. Eli, you truly are a great chef!" Francis smiled with all his charms, "Gil and Roderich mentioned about your cooking during our trip. It is beyond my expectations."

"Oh, my. Thank you very much." She chuckled, and then I chewed my food and gulped it all down first before asking, "Uhh, Ms. Eli, uhh, Grand Mermaid?" They all looked at me, and then she giggled, "You seemed to be very curious about it. Okay, I'll tell you a little story."

Everyone stopped eating and listened to her as she spoke, "Long before this inn was built, this place was said to be a mermaid cove. Through time and human presence, the mermaids left the cove but one. Up until this day, the lone mermaid continues to reside in the cove− somewhere humans would not see her."

"Whoa, you believe that?" Gil laughed out before eating a whole sausage. He sounded mocking the story, but he looked really interested in it. Ms. Eli then waved her finger at him and smiled smugly, "No, no. That's not just a story, Gilbert. There really is a mermaid somewhere in this place. Stay awake on midnight, and you'll hear her singing from the beach."

"Huh? Wouldn't it just be you singing?" Gil pouted, "You know attracting visitors."

"What? No! I can't sing that well!" Ms. Eli puffed before smiling again− bitterly this time, "Be careful though. She's still a mermaid. Mermaids sing to lure men into the sea."

Everyone in the table grew silent; I was the only one making noises with my chewing. Matthew looked at me, and I returned a look like saying 'what?' before he whimpered. Ms. Eli then laughed before she continued to talk, "Anyway, you'll be staying here for only two days. You don't have to worry much about the mermaid. Just don't look for her in the middle of the night."

"Sure, sure. I don't like getting fed to a sea creature anyway." Gil only smirked, and everyone else continued eating. Soon, multiple subjects were brought up in the breakfast table. It was a fun time, but the image of the mermaid I saw still distracted me.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

I was in my room, digging my beach shorts from my bag. We should be changing in our rooms so we could finally go and swim in the beach. I finally got what I needed and changed into it− before noticing a pair of eyes were on me. I looked behind me, seeing my door was open with a crack.

Fuck. My face turned red as I walked towards the door to hold the knob. I'm really sure I closed it. I was about to close it when I noticed the door of the room across my room was open with a crack as well. It was the one under renovation because of the fallen ceiling. Leaving my room to check it out, I somewhat prepared myself. Shit started feeling eerie of all a sudden.

I pushed the door open to see what was inside. The ceiling was not broken, but there was indeed a hole in there. I then walked inside to look around the dark room. The light switch was useless since the hole was where the bulb should be. I slowly walked around, feeling someone was inside there with me. It could be a ghost− shit, what am I thinking? Walking in a place like this−

Inspecting the suspicious-looking walls, I kept myself busy. Then I remembered I had to be with them by six-ten so I raised my wrist to see the time. Miraculously, I was able to see the reflection of the door from my watch− and a silhouette of someone who was trying to escape the room.

"Hey!" I flung to his direction, making him shriek loudly. He then ran off, but of course, I went to catch him. I ran at my top speed and tackled him to the ground. He groaned loudly and began to struggle while babbling loudly. I then yelled at him, "Come on! No use trying to get away!"

But he was feral− soon getting away from me.

We then chased each other again, and I was able to catch him again. This time, I was able to pin him down effectively− I had to make sure he would not be running off easily again. I got his legs off the floor and his wrists pinned with my hands. Let me just ignore the fact I looked like raping him at some point.

"HEY! STOP MOVING!"

He just kept on moving, whining but not saying anything.

"No! Calm down! I'm not letting you go if you don't calm down!"

His forceful movements soon mellowed down until he stopped moving. It was the first time I got a good look at him− at his face. He was flushing red with his lips shut. His eyes were really green and shiny− but he got worse eye bags than Gil. His golden locks were really messy, and his eyebrows were uncomfortably thick. He was wearing clothes for another season, and he looked incredibly small for those clothes.

Should I mention we were just staring at each other without moving for quite a while?

"Alfred?" I heard Ms. Eli from straight ahead so I just lifted my face to see her with a basket of, I guess, laundry. She then looked so terrified all of a sudden. She dropped the basket and came running to us, "OH MY GOD! ARTHUR!" I just had to release him, and he crawled away from underneath me.

I was expecting him to go to her, but he just sped by her with Ms. Eli just yelling for him to come back. I got up from the floor and listened to Ms. Eli protest about this Arthur ignoring her. She then walked to pick up her laundry and smiled at me nervously.

"I hope he did not cause you any trouble." She chuckled as she walked towards me, "Did he hurt you?"

"Who was that? He looked like a caged animal."

"O-Oh. Well, he's− uhh− no one. Anyway, Gilbert and the others must be waiting. You should go now."

She then excused herself to get to a room in the wing. I then walked back to my room to get something else, only for me to see him back inside the 'ceiling hole' room. How the fuck did he get in there? I frowned at him, and he slowly closed the door. He would only leave it open with a crack, his real green eyes pinned at me.

"H-Hey. Do you need something from me?" I slowly walked towards the room, but he kept on closing it slowly as well. I arrived before the door and slowly pushed it open, but he kept it steady− his hands must be preventing the door from opening further.

"My name is Alfred. You're Arthur, right? You know, if you only talked normally, I wouldn't have to chase you down the hall. Is there something I can help you with?" I tried to smile at him, but his somewhat glowing eye was frightening me. The room was really dark, my shadow was covering his image, and his green eye was the only thing I see.

"N-Nothing."

His voice was quite peculiar. There was this accent which made me want to hear him out more. This time, I actually smiled at him and leaned at the door frame, "So you can talk. Alright, let's talk. How old are you?"

"I don't need to tell you."

"Now that's rude. I'm nineteen, but don't underestimate me. I'm in college, and I'm a quarterback. I like a lot of things− stalkers are not actually part of the list."

He was completely silent at this point. He then slowly closed the door, the lock clicking. I frowned at his action, and then I heard Ms. Eli call on me again. I turned to her, and she gave me an awkward smile, "Hey, you're still here?"

"Who's that dude Arthur? What is he doing inside this room?"

"He's inside there?" She twitched and hurried to me, her movements suggesting caution and alarm. She then burst the door open and furiously looked around. She then looked at me as she walked out the room, "No one's in there, Alfred. You must be mistaken."

"Nope. He just hides well."

"Anyway, just forget you saw him. Gilbert must be really crossed at you right now. Go on." I just shrugged and left her side. However, I looked over my shoulder and saw her lock the room from the outside.

Forget him, huh.

…

 **End of Chapter 1**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! Don't worry, things will be explained! :D


	2. This Feral Boy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia and anything related to its copyright. I had some sources, but those did not include any story published in Fanfiction.

 **Warnings:** Homoerotica, homophobes (the hypocrisy), strong language, gore, jumping POVs and some more.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

Alfred and his friends were on a trip to get to the Grand Mermaid Inn kept by one of Gilbert's friends named Elizabeta. On their way there, Alfred saw this silhouette of a mermaid jumping to the sea.

Reaching the inn, they met with Elizabeta and had an ocular tour of the beachside inn. Soon, they had a talk over the breakfast which brought up the confirmation about the presence of a mermaid in the beach.

Before charging into the water, Alfred caught this peculiar guy named Arthur sneaking around. Also, it felt like Elizabeta was trying to hide Arthur from the rest of them.

Who is this guy, and why does the innkeeper want to hide him? What does he want from Alfred?

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

The wind blew its song against my ears again. Everything felt so cool and light. I smelt the sea strongly, and I could swear I felt waves moving behind me. I opened my eyes to see the dark sky which can only be seen from the beach. Before I knew, I was floating in the sea. I then tried to move and start swimming back to the shore.

It happened again sadly.

The moon was still visible and high up in the sky so it was safe to assume it was around four or five in the morning. At this time, the water was cold as hell, but I was used to it. How many times had this happened?

I swam back to the shore and got out of the freezing water. I burred as the wind blew harder from behind me. A sharp breath came to my lips as I tried to keep myself warm despite the sickening cold. I never liked the cold or the sea or the wind it blew. I dropped down and rolled in the sand to keep myself from getting colder.

Someone get me out of here.

Eli's voice suddenly took my attention as she saw me lying down meters away from the reception of the beachside inn. She then grabbed my wrist and pulled me up and to the indoor shower to wash the sand off my body and my clothes. It seemed like she was lecturing me again as we walked.

She made me stand under the warm shower as she rushed inside to get me towel and something warm to drink. I only let the water rinsed the dust particles off of me. Lifting my face, I made the water warm my face as well, my hands soon rinsing my own hair.

Eli arrived and asked me to get out of the shower by then. I did what I was told before receiving a towel from her to dry my hair and my back. Soon, I just wrapped the towel around me while we walked towards the reception. I sat down at the sturdy pot of a décor plant before receiving a cuppa from Eli.

"What happened again? Why are you in the water?" She asked as she combed my wet hair, fixing its messy alignment. I did not answer her, only sipping on my tea. She then stopped with a huff, letting me down all of my hot tea in one drinking. I then left the cup on my side before leaving.

"We're having guests today until tomorrow. Try not to get seen."

"I'll try." It was not like I could control myself all the time.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

 **Rei Haruno− Sakura no Imooto**

 **Chapter 2: This Feral Boy**

…

They had not been in the inn for more than an hour, and I had already failed Eli. I knew I was not supposed to make contact with any guest, but this guy was interesting in one way or another. He looked so peculiar to me− being able to sense the strangeness in this inn.

More than that, there was something inside me which was calling out to him.

I tried to watch him closely every minute, even to the extent of watching him change. I got caught along those lines, resulting to some chase and my awkward discovery. Eli would chew me out later again, and somehow, I wanted to get out of this inn. I thought it would be safer if they knew I was here so Eli would not stop me from interacting with this guy named Alfred.

In the back of my mind, I knew it was dangerous. From time to time, I lose control of myself and wake up in random places I should not be. Nothing serious came out of it, but I realized my family locked me up here in the inn because of it. I did not know what it does to me; they never said a thing.

My encounter with Alfred was the first after roughly seven years in 'captivity'. I was forbidden to talk to any other person rather than Eli in this place. Thing is even Eli was wary of talking to me from time to time. My family would drop by some time, but their last visit was five years ago. I was in desperate need to hear and communicate with other people again.

After some minutes in hiding underneath the bed, I crawled out to get to the door. In my surprise, the door was locked from the outside. Soon, I grabbed the chairs in the room and made a make-shift ladder towards the hole in the ceiling. I climbed up and crawled through the small dark space to get to another hole somewhere. I knew the place by heart even though I never saw it with any light at all. I dropped down from the next hole, ending up in another closet. I went out and dusted my clothes weakly. I was back in my own room.

My room was quite the secret room between the reception and the closed guest room. It would appear as a part of the Administrator's room in the inn maps, but in reality, it was my cage. It was where I was kept when there were guests in the inn. I was like a family pet no one else should ever see.

I turned to my closet after getting out and hunted for clothes I could wear. Due to the state of my body at the moment, I was only able to wear my spring clothes. My health deteriorated ever since I was kept here, and I never wanted anyone to see my scrawny arms and legs. Also, my body's tolerance against cold was so low now. I needed thicker clothes to protect me from the freezing sea water.

Changing into my yellowish shirt, my faded jeans and my sea-green jacket, I tried to sneak out of the other exit from my room. It was through Eli's room which has a door to the dining room. Eli was busy preparing the sheets in all the occupied guest rooms so I could easily sneak out. I walked through the dining room via the secret hall to get to the reception.

From there, I could see the guests frolicking in the beach area at a distance. Hiding behind a chair, I tried watching each of them have fun. The scariest thing was that there were only six of them out there. I squinted at the distant figures to see which one was not there. Before I could figure it out, I felt a cold can on my head. I could shake it off, but I knew it was the missing guest.

"Hey, you work here?" His raspy voice helped me identify him. It was the albino guest− Gilbert, was it? I only looked up at him, seeing his arms loaded with cans of beers sold in the vending machine in the reception.

"Mind helping me out with these?" He chuckled as he tried to manage holding all those cans in his arms. I could say his were twice the size of mine, and seeing it made me tad bitter as I realized how much my physicality had deteriorated over time. However, I could only nod and help him out with some− around a dozen− I could manage with my now feeble arms. The cans were really cold; it was good I had my jacket on.

Eli would be pissed, but I could not just run away from a guest. Yeah, I'd use that excuse on Eli.

"Hey, guys! I found someone else in the inn with us!" He yelled at his friends, and they started gathering around the bench area where the cans were put down. Apparently, a dozen was already so heavy for me.

I huffed in fatigue as I watched everyone get a can and popped them open. Then, I felt a heavy arm circled around my neck, finding Alfred putting his arms on me. He was holding the can with his other hand, everyone drinking at different paces. The athlete then looked at me, "Aren't you hot in those? It's already summer, and you're in a jacket and long pants."

"I'm sorry, but I prefer to be in these."

"Mhmm, you must be this Arthur Alfred was talking about earlier. Hello, my name is Francis." He winked at me before the other blond who looked like Alfred spoke meekly, "Hi, Arthur! I'm Matthew." Soon, the bubbly brunet then popped out of nowhere, "Ciao! I'm Feliciano! Pleased to meet you, Mr. Arthur!" He was then held down by the biggest guy, "Feli, you're scaring him. By the way, my name is Ludwig."

"I'm Roderich." The snobbish one spoke as well, "And I'm guessing this fool over here hadn't introduced himself yet. His name's Gilbert."

I only nodded. Actually, they did not need to introduce themselves; I knew who they were because I had been watching them. They should not know that, though. Nonetheless, Roderich and Gilbert started bickering about the 'fool' address the snob used on him.

"Hey, Arthur, wanna swim with us? But you have to lose the jacket and long pants." Taking my attention from the arguing married couple, Alfred chuckled before taking another short sip on his can. Matthew then smiled at me with such softness, "Arthur, how are you related to Ms. Eli? Do you work in the inn?"

"Ah, no. I don't work for the inn." I had to avoid the other questions; I was starting to feel different. Too much human interaction after years was overwhelming me. Matthew had confusion drawn across his face, but I could only look away from him.

My gaze was now on Alfred and his, uhh, chest. He was not actually that tall compared to me, but he was tall enough to hang his arm around my neck comfortably. My gaze then went to his face, only to catch him catching me looking at him intently. I looked away as he took his arm off of me. It was quite awkward; I could not help but to stare since it was like my first other humans in years.

It seemed everyone started going back to where they were before the beer came. Francis and Matthew were making sand castles with Feliciano. Ludwig was just at a bench, taking a rest with Roderich. The only addition was Gilbert trying to annoy the snob. He then started playing with his glasses, taking it away and made the other chase him around. Francis noticed what was going on and started participating with their game as well. The others had mixed feelings of entertainment and pity.

Alfred snorted at the thing and decided to put his can down before joining the small game. Gilbert threw the glasses a little left and a little weak, making it go passed Alfred and into the deep part of the sea. Alfred then laughed out as he looked back at Gilbert who was frozen by his mistake, "MAN! I'm this close to think that was your glasses! I'm right here, man! Hahahah!"

"Gilbert! You foolish fool! Get it back!" Roderich demanded as he reached Gilbert and started to weakly kick the other's leg. The albino growled in annoyance, but then Alfred laughed, "It's okay. I'll get it for you, Roderich."

"That part is really deep, Alfred." I spoke, making him look at me. He then smiled and gave me his glasses, "I'll be fine. I'm used to diving." He winked before heading out to swim towards the place where the glasses were. I could not tell him the sea ate a lot of people before− as if the mermaid could be hunting in broad daylight.

I looked around and saw everyone was looking our way. I did not want Alfred to drown or be taken so I gambled swimming down there to see if he would be alright. I did not care if people were looking; my family warned me about showing others how I swim. I took off my jacket and folded it neatly before putting it down on the sand with Alfred's glasses on top. I ran my hands along my long sleeves before walking towards the edge where Alfred jumped off. I closed my eyes and dropped down, feeling the water eat me in an instant.

With my body submerged completely, I began swimming down to find Alfred. Unlike normal humans, I did not use my hands and legs to get around; I was using all of my body. I swam like a snake in the sea, swift and cautious. My eyes were also clearer underwater, making me easily spot Alfred from quite a distance. He was trying to dive deeper, yet he was showing difficulty.

I went to him and held him by the shoulder. He turned to me, and I nodded at him. We stopped diving and went stable for a moment enough to communicate with each other. He seemed to tell me they were down at the bottom, and he had no idea how something like that could have sunk that far. I tried to calm him down and asked him to stay because I'd go and get it for him. Before he could even protest, I smiled at him and swam deeper.

That part of the sea was not as deep as the ones big ships sail, but it was way darker than most swimming areas near a beach. I saw the glasses from where I was− as well as hideous things down there. My eyes widened at what I saw. My heart began pounding loudly as I came to pick the glasses from where it was. The water was starting to smell, and it was time to go back.

Swimming faster than my normal speed, I went to meet with Alfred. He was trying to swim deeper when I surfaced to get him out of there as well. I reached out my arms towards him and made him follow me. Knowing I could swim way faster, I grabbed his arm and wrapped it around my neck. I then held him around the waist and swam back to the surface.

A loud splash welcomed us at the beach, and everyone went to see us. I let go of Alfred before we waddled to get to the shore. He then started choking lightly before trying to regain his normal breathing. It only took me some seconds to breathe normally before raising my hand towards Roderich who looked concerned for once. He smiled and thanked me− soon trying to kick Gilbert again.

"Wow, that was fast. How'd you actually learn to swim like that?" Alfred laughed as we walked to where I left my jacket and his glasses. I handed him his glasses with a smile, "I live in a beachside inn. I could go and swim in the sea whenever I like."

But then again, I never liked the sea.

He whistled in awe, but he stopped when I started wheezing. The wind started blowing softly again, enough to make my wet body shiver. I could not put my jacket on; it would only get wet. Then I started feeling warmer, with Alfred getting near and hanging his arm around me again.

"H-Hey, you look cold."

"Now you know why jackets and long pants work best." I chuckled in a joke. We stayed there for quite a while even though Alfred was very uncomfortable. For once, I did not care; I had always liked warm places. I closed my eyes in comfort, my temporary loss of vision enhancing my hearing. There were chattering from a distance along with the soft clashing of the waves. They were laughing− his friends−

Open. I had to open my eyes now. If I felt too comfortable, I would fall asleep. I never liked it when I fall asleep. I lose myself and end up somewhere I do not have a reason to be. Looking back at Alfred who was looking away from me. To be more specific, he was trying to diss his friends who were making jokes on him− jokes I was not able to make out.

My gaze then flew to the reception where Eli was standing. She had this pissed look in her face, with a folded towel tucked in her arms. I knew I had to go. I knew I had to listen to her endless lecture and warnings again.

I made a bitter grin and took Alfred's arm off from me. I did not look back at him before walking towards her. She handed me the towel and whispered 'to your room now' almost voicelessly. She went to entertain the guests out there while I was heading back into my cage.

Making my trail with the water drops from my sandy feet, I went through the reception, the dining room, the Admin's room, and finally, through my bedroom door. I walked to the shower in there and rinsed the sea water off of me. Once again, it was 'artificially' warm.

Having Alfred's arms around me made me feel better.

Finishing the shower and changing into another shirt and pants, I lied on my bed and grabbed a book I had been reading for a while now, held open by a pen with a butterfly on a spring at its end. I was not left with any bookmark; I tend to finish a book in a day, making tons of them piled on the floor. If anything, my cage was more of a dump than a disorganized bookstore storage. Anyway, I did not mind. It was not like I would get anything better than this.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

I suddenly found myself in a small dark place without any light source. It felt like a small cabinet where I forced to fit myself in. I had my heart pounding loudly, and I was trying to breathing with difficulties. Sweat covered most of me, and my legs ached from so much running. My nose started whiffing the smell of blood coming from my hands which were clutched together before my face. It seemed to happen again.

I started hearing footsteps everywhere. They were heavy and angry as well as the voices echoing through a hall. I could hear them faintly, but they hit me like a thunderclap upon my ears.

Balling up in fear, I tried to calm myself down. It never worked. My own voice was not enough to make me feel safer. I was the one screwed; I needed someone else to speak to me− to tell me everything was going to be alright. They would protect me, and they would hold my hand−

"Alfred."

There was no one else I could go to at the moment. He was just the one I felt the most comfortable with. After hearing the voices pass, I slowly got out of my hiding spot and ventured through the dark room. I opened the door and saw a clear hall. I then walked around slowly to find myself in the East Wing near the staircase. Knowing where I was, I ran towards the West Wing to get to Alfred's room.

The sun was bright, but I had the feeling he was in there. It felt like I knew he was going to be in there when I open the door. I was running quickly to get to his room until I stopped. The door was wide open, and the carpet on the walkway was disheveled. I lightly walked towards the doorway and took a peek inside.

Alfred and Matthew were there sitting on the bed. The whole place was a mess as if some rabid animal raged inside. Matthew had his back against the door, but he looked panicking nonetheless. Alfred was in grave pain, and I just wanted to know why. My fear started to be reigned over by worry. I steadily walked into the room, stopping as Alfred noticed I was there.

"Holy shit." He muttered before Matthew turned towards my direction. They were both horrified seeing me− as horrified as I was when I saw Alfred stabbed in the abdomen using my own pen.

"A-Arthur! Please calm down!" Matthew was like asking me not to attack. I was confused− until something hit me right in the back of my head. I fell to the ground, losing my consciousness with it.

…

 **End of Chapter 2**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! (It could be a bit confusing, but hey, I missed doing that trick!)


	3. The Other Side of the Coin

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia and anything related to its copyright. I had some sources, but those did not include any story published in Fanfiction.

 **Warnings:** Homoerotica, homophobes (the hypocrisy), strong language, gore, jumping POVs and some more.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

Arthur seemed to be a person the owners of the Grand Mermaid Inn did not want anyone to know. He was a peculiar man who ended up in places he did not know how he got there.

His years of no contact with any other human made him desperate to interact with the guests of the inn. His efforts seemed to be fruiting since the guests received him well despite the earlier chase with Alfred.

Soon, he found himself displaying his strange swimming expertise to fetch a pair of glasses. It also gave way for him to feel more of this considerate guy he was starting to feel weirdly attached.

However, things went crazy again as he lost control again− leading to Alfred's injury.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

The vending machine made its signature sound as it accepted my coin. I was standing in the reception while actually deciding which drink to choose. We just downed the beers Gil brought so I just wanted to have another can of juice to satisfy my throat. After this, I kinda felt I wanted to paint a quick glance of the scenery from this place; I mean I paint shit even though everyone knew me as a quarterback.

Everyone was still in the water since Eli asked Gil and Francis to inflate the banana boat. The Jet Ski was only filled with the oil and was already working. Only a few guests liked the presence of the banana boat so it was only prepared if requested. As usual, Gil would be driving the thing and causing some more shit again in the sea.

I should be so not painting by the seashore when that happens.

I chuckled as I thought of what could happen when they start letting Gil drive the watercraft. Despite standing here before the vending machine, my mind was flying somewhere else. That let Arthur suddenly press a button after choosing for me.

"H-Hey, I didn't see you there." I greeted him, looking down as he crouched to grope for the can. He then looked up at me and reached out his hand with a coin. I took it with a confused hum and dropped it inside the vending machine again. He then pressed the same button after getting the first can from inside. We heard the can drop again, and he got up, handing the can to me.

"If it's juice, it should be this one."

"Whoa, how'd you know I was going to buy juice?"

He remained silent and started walking towards the West Wing where both of us must be staying. Unlike earlier, he changed into a maroon shirt and dark denim pants. He was wearing the same jacket− and some kind of perfume. I swear earlier he did not smell anything like sweet. He was also walking differently while holding the can with his two hands, sipping it carefully while walking.

We headed to, well, my room, and he just sat on the bed, sipping more of the canned juice. I left mine on the drawer before going through my things again. Since my friends knew, I was able to bring a normal-sized canvas. I was gathering my things for painting, and he was just there staring at me.

I then turned to him and caught him smiling at me differently.

"I like guys who can paint. Are you going to paint me if I ask?"

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

 **Rei Haruno− Sakura no Imooto**

 **Chapter 3: The Other Face of the Coin**

…

"Excuse me?" I frowned at him, and then he giggled as he sipped on the can while eyeing at me. Placing a hand on my hips, I tried to justify myself, "Look here, Arthur. I am not interested in you. I'm going to paint the scenery and not you. Also, I don't swing that way." Dauntlessly flirting with me, how disgusting.

"You got me excited for nothing." He murmured as he continued to drink the juice that way− that feminine way. I just rolled my eyes and turned away to choose among my tools which to use and bring with me. I was planning to get to the backyard and drew more of the rocky formation from where the sun light was coming from. My plans were starting to form when I felt arms wrap around my waist.

It was Arthur. He had his arms around me and his forehead against my back. Just thinking about how we would have looked like disturbed me in so many ways. I then grabbed his wrists and tried to take his arms off of me, "Hey, dude! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Mhmm, Alfred. You smell so good." His arms started moving, one up and one down. To be more specific, one had groping my chest, and the other went for my crotch. I wanted to break away and punch him, but I was still trying to take his arms away from my body.

"Hey, fuck you! Get your fucking hands off of me!"

"I can read your body language at the moment, Alfred. Your body wants me to do otherwise."

This is bad. My body was starting to heat up; he was touching me so bad, man. Thing is I could not pull his hands off of me! His arms would not budge, and they would just move when he wanted them to. He was starting to put pressure on my dick− dude, please no.

Red must have flashed across my cheeks as I tried to get away from him. I was starting to panic more when he slipped his hand inside my pants, feeling more of my boner now. I let go of his other wrist and just tried to stop his hand from giving me a hand job.

Finally, he let go of me, giggling as he stepped away. I was trying to calm my own body as I glared daggers at him. Instead of a sorry bastard, he was just there smiling differently than I saw back at the beach. He then started taking off his jacket, sensually dropping it on the floor. He then started taking off his pants, showing his greenish boxers and his awfully scrawny legs.

"H-Hey, Art−" I almost whispered. Despite the rather unsightly attitude he was showing, I could not help but to pity what he hid under those thick clothes he was wearing. Before I knew it, my face was more compassionate than hateful.

Arthur then kicked his pants off and walked towards me, seemingly enjoying the change of my expression. He then wrapped his arms around my neck, pressing his chest against mine, "I know that look in your face, sweetie."

"Arthur, your legs−" I spoke again, with utter pity, as I held his arms and tried to take them off. I could feel the space between his arm and his sleeve, taking my gaze off his face and to his poor arm. His hands then moved to hold my head, making me unable to move it as I wish. I shot my gaze back to his face, only to watch him kiss me.

I'm not gay. I don't swing that way. But then again, one time shouldn't be enough, right?

I was so pissed at myself for actually liking how his mouth tasted. I never kissed a guy my whole life, and somehow, it tasted better than women's. Wait, what the fuck am I saying? I'm not that kind of guy. I'm becoming awfully disgusting.

Despite my internal turmoil, I was starting kiss him back− torridly. I felt our heads moving, and I could hear soft moans and smacking lips. His tongue started going around inside my mouth, feeling my teeth and my tongue as well. I could try wrapping mine around his, but it was moving too much. It was not like I− I mean, my mouth did not like it that way as well.

He pulled back a bit, letting a thin line of drool draw from my mouth to his. He sensually licked his lips and smirked at me. By then, my body just started moving on its own. I just felt like I did not have enough command on it. Every part of my body acted on its own− in favor to what this gay wanted me to do.

I leaned down this time and started kiss him hungrily. He would return the kisses, serving like a cue for my hands to slide down to his side and grope his ass. His hands got off my head by then, resuming their position around my neck. My body was starting to heat up more, much more now since I could feel his thing rising, too.

That was the time he started walking backwards as if luring me to my bed. Before I knew it, we just fell there, bouncing slightly because of my fluffy mattress. He then rolled us around and ended up above me. He started groping my chest underneath my tank top, raising my clothing.

"Uhh, men. Who doesn't resist you when you're like this?" He whispered as his hand went resting on me. He then reached out behind him, "You could just go and do what you like. Some of your preys were predators in waiting− waiting for a perfect time to strike. When you're off-guard− when you're careless−"

The sensual atmosphere quickly dissipated as he pulled a pen from behind him− one with a butterfly. He quickly pulled off the lid before stabbing it inches deep my abdomen. I did not have the time to stop him, but I was able to throw a punch. However, he was able to dodge it before scramming towards the door.

It fucking hurt like hell so I screamed so fucking hard− making it more fucking painful. I then started crawling towards him who was just standing there. His face showed no emotion at all; he was just staring at me with a cold gaze. He then took the canned juice from the drawer and popped it open. He started sipping on it, watching me crawl around.

It was really weird; I only had a pen deep in my abdomen, but I felt like a thousand knives were embedded on me. My limbs were numbing, and my head was starting to spin. I looked up at him, "What the fuck− did you do to me, you fag!?"

"You're the one who gave a man the permission to touch you."

He then finished the can before walking out of the room. As he opened the door, Francis and Matthew were there as if they were trying to open the door. Both had horrified looks on their faces as they saw me and the little piece of shit. The fag then threw the can at Francis's face before scramming away, Francis dodging the can and running after him. Matthew would help him chase the motherfucker, but he chose to assist me.

"Alfred! What happened to you!? Are you alright!?"

"Dude, don't move me; it fucking hurts!" I stopped moving and just panted for breath. The pain started to crawl faster and pierce through my cells harder. However, I tried reaching for Arthur's clothes and hide them before Matthew gets any idea. To my surprise, Matthew grabbed and threw them under the bed, murmuring, "You need to explain thoroughly later. For now, tell me what happened."

"I got stabbed by a pen deep into my abdomen− but it felt like I'm getting squashed by spiky walls, man."

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

It was quite a long walk, but we were able to carry the unconscious motherfucker in a place in the boiler room− enough to hold a cell for him. He tied him in a chair with heavy chains, with the chair tied to a sturdy beam on the wall as well. He suddenly came back to my room almost an hour after he stabbed me. By then, the excruciating pain was reduced to minor pang around the pen. We could not remove it because I would bleed so much. For now, I had to deal with it.

But then again, it felt really weird again. It was as if I was looking at a different person the entire time I was glaring at Arthur while he was chained against the chair. He seemed to have the same aura as the one back in the closed room and the beach, but not the one who kinda violated me.

I was just staring at him like what the others were doing. I told them he went inside my room and suddenly decided to stab me. No one questioned his clothing though. We caught him when he walked back to the 'crime scene', Gil whacking the back of his head to knock him out.

Everyone was pretty much pissed off. He managed to cut Francis' hands with the use of his own fingernails, threw plates at Roderich and Ms. Elizabeta, took Feli hostage so he could escape the kitchen, and bruised Gil with billiard balls before disappearing into the East Wing. He then appeared running around the West Wing looking for me like an innocent fucker.

I should be seething, but somehow, I felt I could not direct my anger at him.

He roused from slumber, and his confused eyes looked at everyone in the room. He then looked behind him, seeing the chains holding him down. I could agree those chains were pulled too tight, but it was all for our security.

Gil then started talking, "Oh, good morning, you motherfucker." He walked towards the fag and grabbed his chin, making him look at Gil's face which was marked with a blackened eye, "Look. You did this to me. You better have a good explanation for stabbing Alfred and all those other shit you played."

Arthur was just silent; his eyes starting to get teary. He was totally scared, but it was expected since he got caught after what he had done. His gaze started looking at the others as well: at all the mad faces and cold stares we wore towards him.

Tears started running down his eyes so he just shut them close and started tugging his head away from Gil's grip. The albino tightened his hold, but Ms. Elizabeta came to his side and made him let go, giving in to pity towards the blond. Gil clicked his tongue and sharply threw Arthur's face to the side before retreating to where we were. Ms. Elizabeta was then left there, crouching and whispering to the guy.

She was whispering words to him− words we could not hear from here. Arthur only looked really terrified at her, even to the point of shaking his head in denial. He never made a sound other than his whimpers as if he was barred from actually talking. Soon, Ms. Elizabeta held his cheeks and spoke some more which made the guy cry silently. He hung his head, and she left him.

"I'm leaving you guys for now. I had to prepare lunch." She went to walk out of the boiler room, but it seemed we would be leaving altogether. Gil decided to lock him up there for the mean time so we had to go now. He also noted Arthur would not be given lunch for what he did.

We started leaving when he shot his head up to watch us. Taking the opportunity, I went to him and showed him the pen still stuck in my body, "Why did you do this to me? What else did you do to me?"

"Alfred, I swear I don't know." He whispered to me and also begged for company, "Please, don't leave me down here. I beg of you, please."

Gil then tugged at my arm and gently dragged me away. He talked about just trying to escape, and of all people, I should be the one who should not forgive him that easily. My eyes were pinned at the pitiful green eyes of his, me trying to get angry at him−

−And miserably failing.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

We were all in the reception but Ms. Elizabeta and Francis who were in the kitchen. We could be at our own rooms, but it was much safer that way as Gil said. He had this feeling Arthur was not done yet, and he might be back to hurt me more even though there was not much reason for him to do so. If anything, he should be happy to see me of all people.

Everyone had this 'there was something that wasn't there before' feeling back at the beach, and yeah, they actually fucking teased me about it. But then again, odds changed since Arthur actually attacked me with a pen. About the pen, I was really thankful my brother was trying to be a nurse. He was able to remove the pen, stop the wound from bleeding too much, and patch me up real good.

"Hey, Al. Don't tell me you tried to do it with a stranger."

I was startled by Matthew's whisper as he was dressing the wound. My eyes shot at his purplish ones as he returned the gaze. Looking around, I figured it was quite safe to talk since they were far enough not to hear us from where we were. I just sighed and winced at the pain which came with it.

"I don't know, Mattie. It just kinda happened. He− he enticed me. I don't even know how he managed to do that."

"Well, he had the face and the voice to do so. Question is, why would he try to kill his mate? If he wanted to get laid, he shouldn't have pulled off a stunt like that."

"I really don't know, man. There's also one more thing, Mattie." I whispered in a serious tone, making him hum in curiosity. I stared at him for a while before talking, "I actually think it wasn't Arthur. I mean, the one who stabbed wasn't him. They have this different aura−"

"Are we looking at a doppelganger?"

"Not some scary shit, man. It just felt like really weird."

"If I were you, I wouldn't think too much about it now. I mean, he would be stuck there until we leave. But then again, if you wanted to investigate, by all means, I will help you. Just don't forget I'm around."

A smile broke out from my lips before I nodded at him. Somehow, I felt like there was something else happening in this inn. From the very start, I knew this place was not as peaceful as it seemed from the outside. This thing with Arthur was poking my interest one way or another.

When Matthew started packing the first aid kit, I noticed Feli staring at us intently. His hazel eyes were pinned at us, yet his mind seemed to be somewhere else. It was quite new to see him looking so serious. He then twitched when he noticed I was looking back at him. He waved at me with his normal 'veee' face.

Matthew then noticed me looking at him, making him look at Feli as well. They waved at each other before Ludwig came to announce to everyone lunch was served. We all walked to the dining room which was next to the reception. Like earlier, the food looked so delicious, but my appetite was not that nice after getting stabbed. Matthew said it did not hit any organ, but I still had to watch my food consumption.

We all sat down with Francis presenting the dishes like some kind of waiter in fine dining. Lunch went by normally, but I could not help but to notice the look in Feli's eyes the entire time. He was pretty much attentive to who finished his plate or not. It could just be me, but it seemed he was planning about something.

…

 **End of Chapter 3**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! You pretty much notice I'm giving Gilbert a villain-y feel. Yep, I am.


	4. Kindness and Destruction

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia and anything related to its copyright. I had some sources, but those did not include any story published in Fanfiction.

 **Warnings:** Homoerotica, homophobes (the hypocrisy), strong language, gore, jumping POVs and some more.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

Moments after Arthur left the beach, the guests had fun trying to build the banana boat they could play with. That was also a time when Alfred decided to paint, leading to his encounter with Arthur again.

However, the encounter seemed to go haywire. From seducing to harmful, Arthur went− stabbing Alfred after trying to do something with him. Things went confusing for the corn-blond when Arthur came back to see him.

Seeing a clear distinction between their attitudes, Alfred seemed to doubt the one who stabbed him was actually the Arthur back at the beach. Even with an evident wound, he would like to investigate this disparity.

Then again, it seemed Alfred was not the only one who wanted to do something about this happening.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

 _"He's not getting any food for lunch."_

That was what Gilbert said back in the boiler room. I knew he had the reason to get mad at him, and it was a normal punishment. But then again, it did not seat well in me. It felt like he was giving the punishment to someone else. It was just a feeling though.

The Arthur who grabbed my neck and held a knife against it seemed to be a different person than the one we met in the beach. The look in their eyes did not match, and Arthur was impressed by Alfred so he had no reason to hurt him that way. I only saw him for a few minutes, but I was pretty sure he was not capable of hostile actions like those we saw him do.

Roderich and I were seating on the couch in the reception, waiting for lunch. Gilbert and Ludwig were discussing about what to do with Arthur, Francis and Ms. Eli were in the kitchen, and Alfred and Matthew were dealing with the pen wound. I then faced Roderich and whispered, "Roderich, what do you think? Why would Arthur do those things? I mean, he did not seem to be−"

"Either he was passive-aggressive, or he had a screw loose. He's lucky we did not get hit by any plate." He just huffed before pulling off his glasses to clean it with a cloth. He then stared at it first before putting it on again, "I know you're getting disturbed, but please, it's best not to involve yourself too much. You might get hurt more than you can handle."

"Veee, Roderich is so kind~" I hummed as I tried to brush my shoulder against his. He glared at me, making me fall back in terror. He's really scary when he's not in the mood. Anyway, I just thought I wanted to figure out what actually happened to Arthur; it was really disturbing me. I could not leave it like this.

Alfred and Matthew were talking about something, and I could make out some of Alfred's words by the movement of his lips. It seemed we shared the same sentiments in this. I just wished he would help me find out what's going on with Arthur.

But then again, Gilbert would probably not let Alfred get near him since he was already charmed by Arthur. I should probably go in there alone or with someone I could trust to not let me get caught by Gilbert. Even though he would be my first choice of companion, I should not take Ludwig with me. He would stop me and keep me out of trouble like he always does. Roderich seemed to be mad at Arthur, too− as well as Francis and Ms. Eli. I could ask Matthew, but he might smuggle Alfred in. It was scary to think of, but it felt like I just had to do it alone.

I did not know how much I was staring at Alfred, but it seemed he felt it. I had no choice but to wave at him to not make him suspicious. The same went for Matthew. Soon, Francis called on Ludwig to tell him lunch was served. We walked to the dining room and ate. I just had to make sure if I could get some leftovers for Arthur. He might start talking if I give him food.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

 **Rei Haruno− Sakura no Imooto**

 **Chapter 4: Kindness and Destruction**

…

Shortly after lunch, I sneaked in the kitchen to collect the leftovers before Ms. Eli could throw it away. Packing it in a container enough, I got out of the kitchen through its supposed backdoor. I then went to the vending machine to get a canned juice, I purposely shook it a bit to make it spill when I pop it open.

I had to make an excuse to go to the housekeeping area− to get to the stairs which was along its way. Roderich was reading in the reception and just eyed at my stupidity. He just took his eyes off of me before saying, "You should better clean that up."

"Veee, I'm sorry. I'll get to it. Where did Ms. Eli keep the mop again?"

"Go straight the hall and then turn left. You'll see the stairs to your immediate left. Go down there and then straight ahead. Turn left in the corner, and it's in the first door on your left."

That sounded like the boiler room. "Isn't that the boiler room, Roderich?"

"Whatever you plan to do, make sure you won't hurt yourself."

I walked towards him and smiled, "Thank you. Don't tell Gilbert about this please." He just looked at me, his usual cold stare mellowing a bit, "If you don't go back here in fifteen minutes, Gilbert's going to hear about this. Don't get too near, he almost killed you."

"If I could talk to Arthur, I think he wouldn't hurt me." With that, I left the reception to get to the boiler room. I looked back at him before descending the stairs, seeing him still reading in the lounge. I heeded Roderich's directions and reached the boiler room's door. He's quite infamous for losing his way every time; now, I think he was just bad at following his own directions.

Chuckling, I opened the door and walked a bit to see Arthur still on the chair. He was tied with this awfully heavy chain. He lifted his face to see me walk towards him with a smile. I then pulled a chair in the room and sat down, presenting the container of food, "H-Hi, Arthur. I figured you're hungry by now."

"Why'd you come here? Are you stupid?" He spoke while staring intently at me. His green eyes were staring ice-cold at me, making me shiver in fright for a while. I then offered to feed him by opening the container and using a fork I brought to feed him some pasta, "I might be, but I can't just leave you here. Here, have some pasta! This is really good!"

He stared at me for a while before he opened his mouth. I slowly put the pasta inside his mouth and watched him slurp them from the container. After finishing, he started chewing quietly, green eyes pinned at me. Before I knew it, I was humming again− feeling like a lady was staring straight at me.

Since he took my offer without much trouble, I kept on feeding him with what I had with me. The only thing I forgot was to bring a tissue with me. Pasta sauce was smudged around his mouth, and I had to wipe it off because it was starting to get really unsightly. For the mean time, I had to put the container at my seat as I crouched before him to wipe it off with my sleeve.

"I'm really sorry, I forgot to−"

The moment my eyes landed on his, I felt something really weird. I felt I was getting frozen, and there was this song playing in my head, which I could not hear at all. Being pulled into the melody, my body started moving on its own. Before I knew it, I was leaning closer and closer towards Arthur. I could stop, but it felt like a girl was in front of me. Weird thing was it did not even make me confused at all.

Centimeters closer to him, his features were starting to change. His green eyes started giving out a pinkish hue, and his hair was appearing longer and lighter in color. Soon, even his manly features were being reshaped before my eyes. Soon, I got close enough to feel his breath on my face− even the warmth of his face. My eyes began to close, feeling a soft blow of hot air on my lips.

It felt heavenly until it suddenly disappeared. My eyes shot open and saw Arthur standing in front of me. I hummed aloud again as I realized I was looking at him from a lower perspective, and he was wearing light gray jacket on top of his maroon shirt and dark blue shorts. Another second passed before I realized those were my clothes on him.

"Veee! Why are you−!?" I looked down, finding myself stripped naked with just the chains covering me. It was also held tight like how it was wrapped around him. I then shot my gaze back to his green stone-cold eyes. His glare was starting to scare me so bad. Aside from that, the chain was freezing cold, making my bladder work.

"P-Please let me go, Arthur."

"You fed me. All I could do in return is to keep you alive."

What he said scared me more, but seeing him leave calmed me down a bit. But then again, I was still stuck down here. I started making noises as if trying to get away, making him stop walking and look back at me. He then walked back towards me and picked up something from the ground. It was the fork, and he put it inside my mouth, the tips outside. I looked at him, and he smiled at me maliciously.

"Entertain me and get away with that." With that, he completely walked out of the room, closing the door on me. The line of light drawn by the door grew thin, and soon, there was nothing but darkness.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

A loud clang on the ground awoke me. It seemed the fork dropped from my mouth when I fell asleep. It felt like minutes had passed; I wished Ludwig and the others would be looking for me by now. I looked down on myself again, feeling my legs already numbing from the weight of the chain. Good thing it felt like the chain was not crushing _it_.

"Ahihihi." I heard a faint giggle of a child all of a sudden. It made me look around in the dark room; I could barely make out my own body, what more of another person. A lump started forming in my throat as I began hearing distant running footsteps around the room.

"W-Who's t-there!?" I called out, only receiving an amused laughter of a child in return. I only knew a mermaid was roaming this inn− but would a mermaid haunt me like a small child!? I gulped down the lump and began chanting in fear, "Ludwig, help me− Ludwig, help me− Ludwig, help me−"

"Mister, who's Ludwig?"

My eyes widened as a little girl suddenly lunged towards me. Her big golden eyes stared at my hazel orbs with curiosity. Her dark hair was fastened by red ribbons like two low ponytails, and in a way, it complemented her tanned skin. Her light-colored jacket hid a periwinkle swimsuit which emphasized a small girl's body before puberty kicked in.

"Mister!" She yelled at me as she noticed my eyes were going where they should not be. I took my eyes off her clothes to see her face again, but I deeply regret that. Her eyes were already reddened so bad, to the point of them bleeding. Blood was also dripping from her mouth, painting some of her teeth.

I began making ear-splitting screams as I tried moving the chair to get her off of me. Sudden terror like this made my bladder burst of course, but I did not care a bit about it. I just wanted to take her off of me. I also cried Ludwig's name loudly while I tried getting away. However, the more I struggled, the more the chair became unstable. After some more movements, I crashed to the floor with my back slamming against the ground.

The fall disoriented me for a while; before I knew it, the girl was gone. Since my arms were tucked against my chest, I felt physically and mentally safe even though I was still stuck in the chair. No broken arms from the fall. I closed my eyes and sighed with a relieved smile, "Veee, she's gone. I just need to get away from−"

The smile on my face melted as I noticed someone was floating over me. Her legs were floating freely directly above my face, letting me see blue panties− or swimsuit− under her pleated cream skirt. Instead of heating up, I felt more terrified− more when the body moved like it fell on me. Something cold and heavy hit me around the abdomen, and before I knew it, a teenage girl was sitting on me.

"Hey, Mister, who's Ludwig?"

The girl spoke, which made me realized she was the same little girl minutes before, but she grew older. Her eyes and mouth were still bleeding; blood staining her light-colored jacket and her periwinkle swimsuit. Her crushed neck was also painted with blood and bruising.

Blood dripped on my face as she moved to loom her face before me. My tears began breaking out again as she just stared at me. She then smiled and straightened, "You must be lonely. Stuck in here. Don't worry, Michelle's keeping you company~"

"AAAAHHHH! LUDWIG! HELP MEEEEEE!" My legs started kicking around; my eyes were shut tight in fear. My bladder would be giving out again soon; I just wanted to get away from her. From that moment, I did not care whatever I felt. I just kept on crying and struggling.

"−Feli! FELI! FELI!"

I felt hands trying to hold me down− warm hands trying to stop me from struggling. I slowly stopped and looked around. There was light from the door, and the glassed brothers had their heads looming over me. Matthew then tapped my face, "Feli! Feli! Are you there!? We're here; we're here!"

"M-Matthew?" I squeaked before he nodded at me. I started crying again, this time, in relief. Alfred helped me up and out of the chain. I got up and cried at Matthew's shoulder for a while. They were talking about something, but I was too occupied to make out what they were saying. I just wanted to see Ludwig.

…

 **Midnight Mermaid**

…

"LUDWIG!" I suddenly jumped at Ludwig when I saw him in the game room, sitting on a stool next to the bar. Alfred and Matthew helped me out to get back to my room to clean myself up and put something on. They also told me Ludwig and the others were in the game room next to the East Wing of rooms.

"F-Feli? What's with you?" Ludwig spoke in a very confused tone− and embarrassed one since I climbed his lap and sat there. My legs and arms were also wrapped around him, and I just pressed my face against the side of his neck. I was whimpering badly, still terrified of that girl in the boiler room.

Gilbert, who was behind the bar, twitched aloud and leaned against the bar to ask me with suspicion, "H-Hey, what happened to you? Why are you crying? Here, I'll make you something−" Before he could mix a drink, I pulled back and started whining, "T-There was a girl in the boiler room! She was so scary!"

"Girl in the boiler room?" I heard Ms. Eli speak from behind me, humming in confusion, "How could there be a girl in the boiler room?"

"Hey, Eli, aside from the mermaid, are there other shits this beachside inn had? I mean, ghost stories."

"Huh? I don't know anything much in particular, but this place is around fifty years old so there must be a lot."

I turned to look at her as she drank some martini, I guess, Gilbert prepared. She continued to talk, "I had been around this inn for only two years. I don't experience anything suspicious in the boiler room. You're the first guests I would tend to as well. If Arthur was in the right mindset, maybe we could ask him about it. He's been here for, like, seven years?"

"No good; he's gone."

"You said what, Feli?" Ludwig asked me after I murmured. I then looked down, "I tried to feed him despite what Gilbert said. T-Then, he did something to me− I ended up tied in the chair where he should be. Then, the scary girl came− Matthew and Alfred saved me."

"You telling me he's not down there anymore?" Gilbert suddenly sounded serious, soon, dumping his apron away. We watched him storm out of the bar and towards the door, Ms. Eli soon asking, "Hey! What's wrong, Gilbert!?" He left without answering, and so we chased him down the hall of the East Wing.

He noticed we were following him, but he did not make a sound. He went to Roderich's room and knocked furiously, "Roddie! Hey, Roddie, you there!?" No one answered back. I remembered leaving him in the lounge earlier so I thought he could be still there, "Isn't he reading in the lounge?"

"No, he's not there anymore. I haven't seen him for the past hour." Gilbert murmured darkly as he continued to knock. Ms. Eli then held him back and used a master key to open the door. No one was inside, but Gilbert still stormed in and looked around. He checked the bathroom, too, but still, no one was in there.

We then walked through the hall again to get to the lounge, but we ran into Matthew instead. He actually twitched when he saw the furious Gilbert who just walked passed him. He then asked, "Uhh, Gil, did you see Roderich?"

"We're looking for him; why?" He answered shortly, swinging to turn towards Matthew. The mellow glassed boy then raised a book− the one Roderich was reading earlier, "We found this lying around. I thought he dropped this on his way to the West Wing and−"

"Mattie!" We heard Alfred call from a distance. We then watched him walked from the corner of the West Wing to raise a pair of glasses, "I think everyone should see this."

We rushed to the West Wing and stared at what happened in the hall. The carpet was ripped in the middle and pulled midway. Nothing else was notable until Gilbert reacted when Alfred gave him the pair of glasses.

"It's Roddie's. There's no doubt about it."

"I found it lying under a flap of the carpet." Alfred spoke in a serious tone as we all gazed at the disarrayed carpet. "Whatever caused this− took him."

…

 **End of Chapter 4**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! Mixed POVs for the next chapter. I plan for everyone to have their POV in a chapter, or almost everyone.


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